Welcome to the Starlight Parade!!

This post is going to be a quick review of a song my Japanese friend RICE sent me. (:

This song is called ‘Starlight Parade’ (スターライトパレード) by a J-Rock band called Sekai no Owari which means The End of The World. It was released in their 2011 album ‘Entertainment’ and I am OBSESSED WITH THIS SONG.

It’s just such…I can’t even find a word to describe it. I don’t know the word for these types of songs! It’s something I want to listen to under the stars at night either on top of a hill or in a fast moving car. It’s just one of those beautiful songs with a nice beat and awesome vocals – I love these types of songs that deliberately go off scale in the breaks/verses but it sounds just amazing.
At first I said it reminded me of Christmas probably because of the bells but now it just reminds me of beautiful yet epic nights, a lil’ bit of freedom yet part of an amazing collective (because of the ‘welcome to the starlight parade’ line) and…just Japan! It’s the only country that produces songs that get me emotional and feeling almost euphoric at the same time. It’s in NO WAY a sad song but it’s got this feeling which I can only describe as ‘welcoming you into an awesome place where you’re wanted and where you have the most epic time of your life’.
It’s something I can imagine being an ending song to a nice anime. (:

Now, the music aside, I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t in the least bit doubtful that the lead vocalist was male. The first time I heard this song was also the first time I’d seen the music video. It was the first song I’d ever heard by Sekai no Owari. It was also at the same time I was skyping RICE. I absolutely knew it was a male singer but his vocals and cute face had me questioning everrr so slightly even though I knew I knew I knew it was a man and the thing was I didn’t want to ask RICE to make sure because I didn’t want to risk making myself look like someone who can’t tell Asians apart (completely untrue but sometimes that’s the impression you can give off if you don’t ask in the right way). I was thinking to myself ‘god he’s cute’ but then I kept thinking ocassionally ‘okay don’t say that, don’t say that, what if it really is a girl, then you’ll be a lesbian’. I knew then he’s a man and I know now he’s a man but I ended up googling the band just to make sure anyway. And yep! He’s a guy! Thank god! This wasn’t like I was genuinely thinking it was a girl, I mean it’s pretty obvious he’s a guy what with what he’s wearing throughout the video, his stature etc. But there was a little bit of curiosity mainly due to his vocals.
*To anyone who is even the slightest bit offended by this please don’t be! It’s not some sort of insult towards the way Japanese guys or girls look, nor any other Asian, it was just me being slightly stuck in the middle. Read this post if you’re still thinking I’m a total turd in a wig.*

The video itself is great and since I looked at the English translation of the lyrics it seems to be just a nice song talking about experiencing the night sky with all the stars and how it’s like being in another world. Though at the end there’s a line ‘in this world that is now without you’ may suggest something else, I’m not too sure. Open to interpretation I suppose whether that’s someone dying and becoming a star or just someone not being there to experience this new world with you. Either way it’s a beautiful song!

First time hearing this I got feelings I hadn’t had in a long time, kind of like when I was further back in compulsory school like aged 14/15 and I didn’t really have anything to worry about and I could just watch anime constantly. The really nice warm feelings of experiencing what the characters experience either in song or anime and being able to actually forget about stuff in my own life and reality – that’s what I got from this.

Maybe it’s not for everyone but it’s definitely worth a listen. I really want to see them live! Looking online they’re doing a live event at Mount Fuji-Q theme park in Japan in October according to Wikipedia! It’ll be their first time hosting one alone. Ohh how I wish I was there! Hopefully I will be soon! (:

Unfortunately you can’t purchase this iTunes, Amazon, Yesasia etc as a download because…I don’t know! The only song you can purchase is ‘Take Your Way’ which is a collaboration between the main vocalist, Satoshi Fukase and another artist. I think you just have to be somewhere in Asia to purchase this as a download. You can however buy their single as a CD and their albums online! Just not the download. MEH!